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GOF Dish and Discuss: Favorite Winter Fruits/Veggies

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LIANA – Mini Oranges 

clementimesMini oranges, satsumas, mandarins, clementines… I can’t say I know the difference between them yet, but I can say they are the best thing that happens every winter! With all the options, I’m not sure what type I typically go for at the store – this time, it appears I grabbed a big ole’ bag of clementines – but either way, they were DELICIOUS! Every winter for as long as I can remember, my family has had a bowl of these little guys in the kitchen. They’re super easy to peel, work as a snack or addition to any meal, and usually don’t come with the dreaded seeds familiar to their larger citrus counterparts.

I’ve kept the tradition up at my apartment with my roomie now, and I’ve decided they are probably the most shareable food around, not to mention health conscious. With all those winter germs hopping around, I’ll take all the Vitamin C I can get. Fingers crossed but I’ve skirted many a germ lately what with all the nannying I do, and I dare say these puppies deserve some credit.
I’m still working on creativity surrounding mini oranges. The furthest I’ve gotten is binging on an entire bag at once.  Other ideas include clementine cake, clementine cocktails featuring vodka or champagne (no complaints on either of those but more for champagne!), satsuma marmalade or smoothies the list goes on, but I’m confident that any recipe involving such citrus goodness will be delightful!
RENO TASTEBUDS – Butternut Squash 

BS2My favorite winter vegetable is butternut squash, so I decided to share an indulgent recipe with it as the star ingredient. Nobody can beat my Mom’s lasagna. I’m going to start with that. She is the lasagna master and will take on the entire country of Italy if given the opportunity. For every Birthday celebration for as long as I remember, I always asked for Lasagna when my mom inquired about dinner plans. Of course it was loaded with sausage, layers upon layers of every cheese possible, oozing marinara sauce and spices galore. As much as I love Mama’s lasagna, I need to clean it up a bit so I can enjoy it on a more frequent basis. Clean it up a bit? Ok, I changed the entire thing including the pasta noodles. Check out the new recipe using my favorite winter squash, Butternut!

Ingredients:

  • Butternut Squash – Peeled and sliced.
  • Spinach, cleaned
  • Asparagus tips
  • Zucchini
  • Diced Yellow Onion (1/2 an onion)
  • Chopped Garlic Cloves (2)
  • Baby Bella Mushrooms
  • Ricotta Cheese
  • Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese
  • Shredded Parmesan Cheese

BS1

Preparation:

First, you may be looking at the squash like, WTH!?! Follow these steps to get your squash cleaned and ready.
  • Cut off each end of the squash.
  • With a potato peeler, start peeling the squash until you see only orange
  • Where the skinny part meets the round bulb, make a clean horizontal cut.
  • With a mandolin slicer, or if you have mad knife skills, start slicing thin pieces of squash, resembling lasagna noodles.
  • Now we are ready to prepare the lasagna.
    • Bring a stockpot of hot water to a soft boil. A rolling boil will break your noodles apart. Place the squash noodles into the water and let boil for 8-10 minutes, or until a fork can pierce through.
    • Chop all your veggies. Mushrooms, asparagus, onions, spinach, garlic and zucchini.
    • Heat a saute pan over medium heat with extra virgin olive oil.
    • Mix all the veggies in the pan, and after a minute or two, add a little water to extract the moisture out of the spinach and mushrooms. Your veggies will begin to wilt and become translucent. Sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and give the mix a couple of cracks of black pepper. You can also add chili flakes for a little heat.
    • Drain your noodles. Be careful, they will break if you just dump them into the strainer.
    • In a square casserole dish, (8×8) first lay down a little olive oil.
    • Start layering your squash noodles, veggie mix, dollops of ricotta cheese, and mozzarella cheese.
    • Continue to layer until you have used your ingredients.
    • Sprinkle a pinch of nutmeg on the top layer of the squash noodles.
    • Add a final layer of mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
    • Sprinkle a dash of rubbed sage on top.
    • Bake in the oven, at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
    • Let cool and then dig in! It’s increeeeedible!

JULIANNE – Feijoa 

feijoa

feijoa 2I love Los Angeles, but I consider moving back to Sacramento after every Christmas, cause I love my mom’s feijoa fruit tree. For those not familiar, feijoas (or acca sellowiana, its real name) is an egg-size fruit similar to guava. To eat the fruit, slice a ripe cleaned feijoa in half and scoop out the pulp, just like eating a kiwi. Feijoa has juicy pulp with a slight grit to it, but it tastes like sweet edible perfume… I’m probably making this sound strange, but it’s so good. Feijoa fruits grow primarily in New Zealand and South America and aren’t available for mass sales due to their ability to bruise easily. But if one of your neighbors or family members has a tree, have them provide you with some. I have fond memories of my mom letting me eat the petals before they’re ripe (don’t worry, they’re edible).

 

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Julianne

Actress and Founder of Girls on Food: I was born and raised in the suburbs of Sacramento, California. I grew up a typical “McDonald’s kid”. I was very picky about what I ate and refused to try new foods. No fun, I know. My Mom started taking me on trips to Europe when I was a teenager and that’s when my palate for finer foods began to develop. Some of my most memorable favorite meals include Veal Bolognese in Rome, Gyros in Athens, Paella in Lisbon and Duck L’Orange in Paris. While this helped me grow out of a fast food phase, I still eat out quite a bit. I know I should be at home cooking, but I love dining out. I started working in restaurants in various front of the house positions at age 15. Since my start, I’ve worked in every casual restaurant setting you can think of: a teriyaki stand, brewery, sushi nightclub, trendy Mexican, family-style Italian, American diner, pizza parlor and even a BLT themed food truck. I can't help but notice that many of the LA food bloggers don't have any sort of background working in a restaurant. A lot of my perspective on food and dining out comes from my years of experience in the biz. Since starting this blog, I have shot appearances on a couple of cooking competition shows as a taster (including MasterChef Junior and another upcoming show). We have also started producing a Youtube Channel. IMDb page here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2023647/ For this site I contribute content from all over Los Angeles (and the world) to showcase my favorite fine-dining spots, steakhouses, exclusive supper clubs, Hollywood nightlife and our very own #GOFx events, which I plan and coordinate.

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